Date: Saturday, February 5, 2011Time: 12:00pm noonLocation: Emerald Buffet (formerly Du Barry), on Selkirk Drive in Vanier. A Chinese buffet with plenty of selection including lots of dim sum, dumplings, and your standard Chinese (and Canadian Chinese) fare. I think this is THE best Chinese buffet in Ottawa.

Pricing and payment: Ay, here's the rub. I booked the party room today, and gave them a deposit to secure the room. They were also willing to offer us free tea and soft drinks. The manager's face noticably fell, however, when I mentioned that my group was going to each be paying individually.

I've also received feedback from past events that people were irritated with how long it took to get their payment through (and understandable, given so many people trying to pay the waiters). Martin and I talked about selling tickets but I don't really want to go through that hassle, and I doubt you guys do either.

So.... Taking into account all these factors, I propose the following: I will pay the restaurant in one bill. This will keep things simple with the servers, keeps us on the manager's good side, and gives us free drinks. You can pay me (cash only please) at your convenience, and that will allow you to leave when you need to without waiting for the servers.

The costs to you will be, including HST and gratuity:

Adults: $15.00 per personChildren (5 to 12 years old): $10.00 per personChildren (2 to 4 years old): $5.00 per person

I hope that this is amenable to all of you. I think this is the easiest solution that keeps everybody happy: all of you, me, the waiters, and the manager. Please note that to keep the numbers simple, I have rounded down. This means I am not making any money off the collection. (E.g. Adult buffet price = $12.99 plus tax and 10% gratuity = $16.15). Consider it my New Year's gift to the CCC!

GreyingJay

Thanks guys. I'm not worried about being paid in advance (although if you want, you can settle your bill immediately at the restaurant so you can eat with peace of mind ) The deposit was only $100 and it was on my credit card, so I don't feel like I have a hole in my pocket.

I'm glad that I gave that gentle elbow on FB about this event. After almost 7 yrs in the Capital, this will be the 1st time we'll be able to attend. Looking forward to it. Now the question is where to intercept you two

GreyingJay

Jeez... is the restaurant going to start being like that now? We've been going there for the last 3 years without a problem....

Well, it's really down to: You can all pay your own bills, but be subjected to possible wait times because 50-100 people will be going through 2, 3, 4 servers, and pay regular price (e.g. drinks are extra), or we can do this, and get a bit of a deal and it saves you the hassle. Or, really, trades one hassle for another.

The manager made it pretty clear that she preferred the "one bill" route. I thought it might work out better given the feedback we've received from you guys in the past (specifically about wait times).

I'd like it if people would be willing to give frank feedback: if you don't like this plan, please let me know (contact me personally if you prefer). So far it seems like people are willing to try this out, but if it turns out this is not the preferred approach, I'll address it with the manager again.

GreyingJay

I have been receiving notifications for other published caches in the area, but have not seen any owner notifications including the publication of my cache listing nor any of the "will attend" notes that people are logging.